Robin Dunbar is an award-winning environmental educator, artist, and storyteller. She earned all degrees from Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia. Her PhD is in Public Administration and Urban Policy, Master of Arts in Humanities - Cultural and Human Geography and Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Human Resources with a minor in Communication. After 25 years working with the nonprofit Elizabeth River Project as the Deputy Director for Education, she relocated to South Florida to fully embrace her identity as an artist while continuing her commitment to public service and water quality stewardship. 

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As an adjunct professor, she teaches environmental policy, ethics, and program evaluation. Dr. Dunbar’s qualitative research focuses on the value of narratives, marine debris, stakeholder engagement, and policy development. Her doctoral work in Public Administration and Urban Policy examined macro marine debris in the Elizabeth River and the role of participation and storytelling in policy processes.

In 2025, Dr. Dunbar was awarded a prestigious Environmental Sustainability and Resilience Practitioner Fellowship at the University of Virginia’s Environmental Institute. In 2019, she received the Presidential Award of Excellence from the White House and the National Science Foundation for contributions to science, mathematics, engineering,  and mentoring. 

 

One of her projects includes helping design the world's first floating classroom with live wetlands - the 120'x32' Learning Barge - in partnership with the University of Virginia and a marine architect. She has also developed twenty-three interdisciplinary, inquiry-based GreenSTEM curricula for K–12 students, a natural playground, the character Princess Elizabeth for whom the Elizabeth River was named and she authored the nation’s first youth resilience plan to help students respond to flooding and land subsidence. 

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